Itinerary

Depart your USA gateway for flight to Guatemala. Upon arrival, meeting and transfer to the Hotel Camino Real.

Day 2

Guatemala City, Guatemala
Chichicastenango, Guatemala

Hotel Santo Tomas

Breakfast, Lunch

Today, before heading into the highlands, you host will provide a guided tour of the present day capital, a mix of the new and traditional, in architecture, culture and ambiance. Highlights will include the major downtown sites of the Parque Central (main plaza) which as colonial Spanish tradition would dictate, the plaza is flanked by the Cathedral, National Palace and the Archbishop’s Palace. You will also have a guided tour of the major museums: Archaeology & Ethnology Museum with its very good collection of Maya artifacts, including a scale model of Tikal and interesting displays of Indian culture; the Ixchel Museum features an excellent collection of thousands of samples of hand-woven textiles, there are some painting and jewelry displays as well; the Popol Vuh Museum has a large exquisite collection of pre-Columbian jewelry, artifacts, colonial art, religious art, ceramics and antiques, Most of the items came from a private collection. Enjoy a relaxing lunch before leaving the capital to “Chichi” and the Hotel Santo Tomas.

Day 3

Chichicastenango, Guatemala
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Casa Palopo - Atitlan

Breakfast

The market awakens at the crack of dawn. With your guide walk the main plaza now teeming with hundreds of stalls and merchants selling the wares from throughout the countryside. The churches of El Calvario and Santo Tomas flank either end of the square. Santo Tomas, built in 1540 on the site of a Maya temple, is revered to this day. Only the Maya are allowed to walk up and sit on the steps leading in. Non-Indians enter the church through a side door. Across the plaza El Calvario is smaller and used exclusively by the Indians for prayers and services, both Christian and otherwise. Throughout the market area the aroma of copal incense pervades. In the afternoon drive about 1.5 hours to Lake Atitlan, often referred to as the “Switzerland of Central America,” the 50-square mile Lake Atitlan (“abundance of waters”) is dominated by three towering volcanoes (Toliman, San Pedro, Atitlan), sheer granite cliffs and dotted with twelve Indian villages (named after the Apostles) around the lake. Your hotel for the next two nights will be the charming Casa Palopo-Atitlan.

Day 4

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Casa Palopo-Atitlan

Breakfast, Lunch

Full day visiting some of the villages dotting the lake; among them Santa Catarina and San Antonio, not nearly as “gringotized” as Panajachel and with a more “indigenous” feel about them. The former is noted for it’s fine textiles, the later for its pottery works and whose hillside terraces harvest onions, anise, corn, and beans. Traditional dress for women in San Antonio is red shirts, wool skirts with a turban-style hat. The largest of these villages is Santiago de Atitlan, across the lake, and is reached by boat. As other villages in the country, Santiago also has a traditional dress and color scheme; for men it is white and purple striped pants and the women wear intricately embroidered blouses (“huipiles”) and a tightly wound halo of red cloth on their heads. The market here is rather authentic too. Lunch will be included at a charming “posada” prior to returning back to the other side of the lake and your hotel.

Day 5

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
Antigua, Guatemala

Posada del Angel

Breakfast

Today you will leave for the former colonial capital, Antigua. On the way stop at the quaint hillside town of Solola. Perched along the mountainside half-way down towards the lake, some consider the twice weekly market here to be superior to others in the country. Continue to your hotel in Antigua, Posada del Angel.

Day 6

Antigua, Guatemala

Posada del Angel

Breakfast, Lunch

A full day with your guide, you'll enjoy a colonial walking tour of old capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala, one of three major centers of power during the Spanish era, Antigua is a treasure house of colonial architecture and charm. Destroyed by a devastating earthquake in the 1700's, it has been declared a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO, an Historical Monument of the Americas and all present day construction must reflect the colonial era. Lunch will be included in one of the city’s most famed restaurants.

Day 7

Antigua, Guatemala

Posada del Angel

Breakfast

This morning your guide will take you to the outskirts of Antigua, the village of Jocotenango and it's interesting pink and white façade church. Then cross over to the Azotea Coffee Farm and museums. Here learn about the importance of coffee in Guatemala's history. In addition to the guided tour of the farm, visit the museums exhibiting traditional Maya music and costumes. Afternoon at leisure to explore at your own pace.

Day 8

Antigua, Guatemala
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Flores, Guatemala

La Lancha

Breakfast, Lunch

Very early this morning your host will transfer you to the domestic terminal in Guatemala City for the 1-hour flight into the heart of the Peten jungle. Upon arrival in Flores you will be met and driven some 45 minutes through one of the world’s largest remaining subtropical forests, to what many consider the greatest Maya ceremonial site found to date, TIKAL. In 1979 UNESCO named it a “Monument of the World’s Heritage, Cultural Treasure of Humanity". Tikal National Park covers over 200 square miles with over 4000 mapped sites, however, the bulk of the excavations have centered around what was the center of the city some 16 square miles. The most magnificent structures are around the Great Plaza which has 2 of the temples facing each other (Temple I - Giant Jaguar; Temple II - Masks), flanked by the North and Central Acropolis. A short walking distance away you find the tallest structure yet discovered, the 212-foot Temple IV (Double-Headed Serpent), unexcavated at the bottom. There may be time for you to climb it! A visit to the nearby museum is included as well as picnic lunch on site before being taken to your hotel, La Lancha.

Day 9

Flores, Guatemala
Guatemala City, Guatemala

Hotel Camino Real

Breakfast, Lunch

This morning you will head towards the capital of the Peten region, Flores. Stop at the Ixpanpajul Nature Reserve. This park has over 200 species of trees, over 150 species of birds and about 40 species of mammals. You can choose between a walk on hanging bridges (one suspension bridge is over 200 meters long) and winding paths, or a more adventurous swing line tour to explore this tropical paradise. Then on to this charming island town for lunch before going to the airport for return flight to the capital and your hotel, the Camino Real, for the night.

Day 10

Guatemala City, Guatemala
Miami, FL United States

None

Breakfast

At the appropriate time, you will be transferred to the airport in Guatemala City international airport for your departure flight to your home city.

Reviews and Recommendations for Ladatco Tours

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By: RBW

Reviewed on: 23 Jan 2014

Our vacation to Costa Rica was wonderful. All guides and drivers were top notch and we never had to wait for anything. I would book again using Ladatco Tours.

Recommended

By: travel bug

Reviewed on: 20 Apr 2014

We have traveled to South America on several occasions and have used Ladatco (Michelle) to set up our tours/itineraries. We have always felt like we saw the MOST interesting things that were especially geared for the interests of our group members. We also think our schedules have made the most use of our time, money and logistics. I highly recommend Ladatco to plan a South American vacation.

Galapagos and Ecuador Trip - 2017

By: Jan

Reviewed on: 29 Jul 2017

Very good trip and service. Was where they needed to be at all times. Provided very good drivers and guides, spoke English well, wee flexible with our desires, and gave us consistent guides that got to know our family.
Coordinated well with our overall trip planner. Trip was great and the guide provided a lot of local color with our trip -- as sometimes we like to go off the beaten track and experience more local places.
Perfect fit for our family.

Macchu Picchu and Galapagos

By: The Johnson's

Reviewed on: 30 Oct 2017

Ladatco did a great job putting together our trip. Our local guides were really great. The Gourmet Food tour in Lima was a wonderful way to start our trip! One of the owners, Samantha, was our guide and gave us a culinary experience to remember. Our guide, Ramiro, with Metropolitan Tours, was so knowledgeable and so passionate about Peruvian history and the time of the Incas! we really enjoyed our time with him and learned so much from him. The visit to the Quillot village was an experience we will never forget. And, of course, Macchu Picchu and the other Incan ruins were awe-inspiring. The second Ramiro, in Quito, was another wonderful guide.
We loved our hotels and wished we had more time to enjoy the amenities of Hotel B in Lima, the Sol y Luna in the Sacred Valley and Casa Gangotena in Quito.
The Petrel is a beautiful small ship with an excellent crew. Our naturalist, Nico Andrade, was just great. He was knowledgeable, funny and kept us busy! The food was just OK.